91原创 Hospice Society has a new feature meant to help those who are grieving the loss of a loved one 鈥� a wind phone.

As hospice executive director Shannon Todd Booth explained when the phone was officially opened on Thursday, Jan. 26, the idea of the wind phone came from a Japanese garden designer, Itaru Sasaki, whose cousin died after a brief battle with cancer in 2010.

After that, Sasaki set up an old, disconnected phone booth in his garden so he would have somewhere to go to talk to his cousin, and reflect on his loss. The name wind phone came from the fact that his thoughts would be carried on the wind.

After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands of people in Japan, Sasaki opened up his phone to allow others to use it, and the concept began to spread internationally.

91原创鈥檚 wind phone is on the grounds of the Doug and Fran MacDonald Hospice Residence, which just opened last year, down the hill from the 91原创 Memorial Hospital.

It鈥檚 an old-fashioned red British phone box, and the design and installation was the brainchild of Heather Giuriato.

She found a company that was casting the booths, paid for it, and had it shipped to 91原创.

Todd Booth noted that when it arrived, all 700 pounds of it, hospice staff quickly realized that getting it into place would be a challenge.

They reached out to the 91原创 Township Firefighters Charitable Society, which rounded up some willing volunteers. It took 10 firefighters to carry the phone box and get it into position.

After the ribbon cutting, by Giuriato and 91原创 Hospice Society president Kathy Derksen, Giuriato was the first person to pick up the phone.

鈥淲e hope this is an invitation for folks to come and have the conversations they need to have,鈥� said Todd Booth.

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